An Abbott district alternative: Character education and parental involvement

NJNP Photo/ John O'BoyleStudents in a classroom in Plainfield, one of the state's Abbott school districts.

In my teaching career, I taught in two Abbott Districts: Plainfield High School and Orange Middle School. The challenges within these and other Abbott Districts are beyond a simple remedy of who to blame.

But if we calculate the dollars spent per students versus the results, we have the educational equivalent to AIG and other financial conglomerates. The fight is always about the money needed to fix these schools.

Suggestion: It is not about the money. If money were the answer, why are these schools lagging so far behind the rest of the schools in the state. Example: I served on the school board in an elementary school in Mine Hill for three years. During these years, the budget did not increase yet the school was awarded Blue Ribbon status in my third year.

The school gained Blue Ribbon status because the board approved the superintendent's proposal for a parental involvement program. Kids in Abbott schools need the support of parental involvement.

But can parents get involved given the conditions and the fact that some of the teachers are burned out and in a survival mode? So, what if we replace this spiraling spending with allowing caring parents with school choice?

If these schools are failing or are mediocre, what chance do these kids have when they face the world of work and society? Studies of corporate managers always place positive attitude as a leading indicator for hiring. What of kind of attitude do these kids have after 12 years in a negative environment? There is a strong likelihood that urban children will face unemployment or underemployment. So, a psychological sense of hopelessness sets in. Crime and violence are frequently in direct proportion to hopeless and desperation.

School choice and vouchers for parochial schools will provide a choice for parents who believe in the teaching of character education. In the age of measurement through standardized testing, how much time are public schools devoting to character education?

As a former school board member, I proposed character education as an inclusion to the mainstream curriculum. Here's what happened: three members silently rejected it, one agreed, one looked at me like I had three heads and one verbally opposed. If the issue is controversial with a school board that serves less than 300 students, what are its chances in a large district?

Raising excellent schools are similar to raising healthy and responsible children. There is a time to let them grow up. The state has allowed the Abbott districts this opportunity. It is time for these schools to grow up. Given the systemic conditions inherent in these environments, will these schools ever grow up? Only caring parents with choices can provide these kids an equal footing to a life of success and meaning!